Bklyner, Designed by Wkshps

One of the projects we worked on last year was our identity – what does a Brooklyn-wide news organization look like these days?  How do we keep the feeling of old-school, homegrown, neighborhood news and yet be fresh and current and forward-looking? It was a challenge both editorially and design wise.

On design, we were lucky to work with Prem Krishnamurthy and the team at Project Projects as it itself morphed into Wkshps. Why would a Cooper Hewitt’s National Design Award for Communication winner take on a client like us?

Both principal partners, Prem Krishnamurthy and Chris Wu, as well as more than half of their staff, are from Brooklyn – from Brooklyn Heights to Carroll Gardens to Greenpoint to Bushwick. Some are 4th generation Brooklynites, some more recent arrivals, and sadly Krishnamurthy has since decamped to another borough.

“Bklyner was a great commission for us: an ambitious client with a strong sense of their own profile, audiences, and goals, who were open to an outside perspective on their identity”, Krishnamurthy said when I asked him why they decided to work with us, a very small client.

“Because you’re a small organization, it was easy to have a direct and personal dialogue, with a fluid design process and collaborative mindset. I love situations where everyone has the same thing in mind: to make a great piece of design that will reach people!”

Project Projects LLC have relaunched as Wkshps, a “multidisciplinary design workshop that crafts identities for art institutions, public spaces, non-profits, and global brands alike”, and they work with clients big and small, like us.

If you are considering a new identity – do check them out!